TGS: Kill Fist-Fighting Chickens in Tales of Xillia

Looking at Tales of Xillia for the first time, one thought kept recycling through my head: This is the PS3's Tales of Vesperia. Not because Xillia looks particularly like Vesperia, though -- similarly gorgeous, sure, but not enough that you'd confuse the two. Where Vesperia was exclusive to 360, Xillia is exclusive to PS3. Both have circular arenas and real time combat. Both let you jump between characters in battle and feature talking head chit-chatting when they're out of the fight.

At a base level, I couldn't stop thinking about Vesperia because Xillia is so very obviously and proudly another Tales RPG. This is a series with distinct factors its fans love, and although you can be reductive to show just how similar they all are to one another, it doesn't take away from their quality. But the real reason I couldn't stop thinking about Vesperia is because I loved it, and Xillia got me stoked to return to the Tales franchise.

Tales of Xillia is finally coming to the West in 2013. The story follows Jude, a martial arts expert and medical student, and Milla, a sorceress who's lost the ability to summon spirits. They fight in tandem alongside up to two other party members to fight enemies both scary and goofy -- I'm fond of the fist-fighting chicken foe, myself. This humor carries over to the character customization, as well. You can dress your heroes up in maid outfits, schoolgirl backpacks, and space helmets before putting pets on their shoulders.

The world here is slightly more open than Vesperia's more linear (but secret-rich) routes. Xillia is hardly open-world, but there's wide room for you to explore, climb, and jump around as you cut a path through enemies waiting to brawl.

Tales of Xillia is already available in Japan -- its 2010 release marked the 15th anniversary for the franchise -- and its sequel is due out shortly in the East. Seeing Tales of Xillia demonstrated by its developers, and catching glimpses of Xillia 2 in various shops, got me excited about this series' future in the West. Xillia may be more of what you expect from the Tales franchise, but the formula works, the art is strong, the combat is consistently fast-paced and fulfilling, and the characters are often likable. After more than 15 years, it's clear that's all fans need.

Mitch Dyer is an Associate Editor for IGN's Xbox 360 team. He’s also quite Canadian. Read his ramblings on Twitter and follow him on IGN.